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6th International Archean Symposium
6th International Archean Symposium

Multiple seismic constraints on Precambrian continental fragments of the northern West Australia Craton

Poster

Talk Description

It is challenging to understand the evolution and dynamics of the Precambrian continent due to lack of sufficient observations. The West Australia Craton (WAC) has a prolonged history of multiple terranes formation and accretion in the Archean and Paleoproterozoic, and therefore, provides us an ideal laboratory to study how Precambrian continental fragments amalgamate to form stable continents. However, some questions remain unclear including how many terranes were assembled and where the collisional boundaries are. These tectonic events probably have left unique imprints in the lithosphere, which can be detected by seismic signal. Here we target the northern WAC including the Pilbara Craton, the Canning Basin and the Kimberley Craton using a passive source array. We show multiple crustal models imaged by shear wave velocity, radial anisotropy and Vp/Vs ratio with a cutting-edge transdimensional inversion method. Combining our models and evidence from other disciplines, we discuss the possible role of internal continental fragments in the regional assembly processes. Integrated with results from other Archean and Paleoproterozoic cratons, our study offers direct shallow lithospheric constraints to better understand the formation and evolution of Precambrian continents.

Speakers